Avatar Katara
by Lifebender
Summary: So perhaps the spirits got tired of waiting for Aang in the iceberg and the avatar was reincarnated as a certain Southern Water Tribe girl. Katara is the avatar and no one knows... DISCONTINUED! But adoption comes with an excellent beta. :)
1. Chap1  Birthday Bonfire

A/N – This is just a little intro I wrote, the action should start next chapter when Zuko sails in, in search of the Avatar.

Chap. 1 – Birthday Bonfire

As night deepened in the small village of the Southern Water Tribe, the full moon rose and shone brilliantly upon the tightly-packed snow houses that circled a rather lacking bonfire. Sokka, the only male in the tribe between the ages 7 and 70 _and _the son of Hakoda, the tribe's chief, stepped back to examine his creation. There wasn't much to work with. Just an old rotting canoe that was otherwise unfixable and a pile of driftwood he had spent half the day gathering. He blinked a few times and sighed. This was as good as it was gonna get.

He started to sit down on a block of hard snow, but he stumbled and ended up landing hard on his rear. There was a giggle behind him.

"Katara!" Sokka shouted. She had moved the block with her strange magic that she used mostly to annoy him all the time.

"Is this the great surprise you had us waiting for all day?" She smirked. "I don't think everyone will fit around…"

Sokka just stared into the flames kind of embarrassed and ignored his sister, refusing to even get up after her dumb trick. 'At least she didn't change it to _liquid _this time' he thought. A second thought occurred to him and he turned back to Katara, who was looking at the moon.

"Why don't you put your _weirdness _to use and make us a stage for our festival" he said.

"It's not _weirdness,_ its _waterbending_" Katara emphasized for the hundredth time. "And what's this about a festival?" She asked skeptically.

"Uh, duh Katara, it's Gran Gran's 80th birthday today" replied Sokka.

"I know, but we've never had a _festival _before for her birthdays." Katara rebutted.

"Well I wanted this one to be special." Sokka explained. "Besides, it's a fantastic night."

"It really is…" Katara said wistfully, turning to gaze at the moon once more. She quirked her brow and looked back at Sokka. "So a stage?"

"Just try to raise a really big platform on that side of the fire" Sokka said pointing. "I won't be mad if you can't—" he stopped and stared at the massive mound of icy powder that rose to dwarf his precious bonfire.

"Stop! Not _that _big!" Sokka shouted. But it was too late. Chunks of ice came down in an avalanche that destroyed the flames without hesitation.

"Why did I ever think that would work!" Sokka half-whined, half shouted.

"Whoops" Katara voiced. "Sorry Sokka." She apologized genuinely.

Sokka was still beating himself up at his mistake. "Every time you use your _magic powers _something bad happens to me! Why dear spirits did I ask you to _help _me with them? Like all of a sudden they could actually be _of use!_" He finished ranting, glaring at Katara. She whimpered, a few tears coming to her eyes.

"That's enough Sokka" came an aged voice behind them. Gran Gran had come out to see what all the commotion was about. "Just collect the usable wood and bring it inside to the fire-pit." Sokka mumbled and huffed under his breath but otherwise did as he was told.

"And Katara…" Gran Gran trailed off. Katara was looking away still hurt from her brother's words. "Katara, your waterbending is not useless. Come inside and we'll have a talk." Gran Gran took Katara back into their hut and sat her down around the fire-pit.

"I don't blame you in the least bit for your mistake you know." Gran Gran reached out to touch Katara on the shoulder. "If anyone is to blame, it's your father. He should have found someone or taken you to study somewhere, but I'm afraid after losing your mother he didn't have the heart to risk putting you in danger. It pains me every day to see the raw talent you have with no one to help you control it or teach you. What you just did out there was remarkable—I've never seen anything like it accept from a whole team in synchronization."

"But it was sloppy" Katara said looking downcast. "I'm lucky the fire was the only casualty… Sokka's right, I'm a fool to think my gift could ever help people…"

"Did I hear Sokka's right?" Sokka entered carrying a bundle of wet planks and charred driftwood. He had a smirk on his face but quickly wiped it off when he saw the look his grandmother was giving him, and deposited the wet wood in the pit.

"Don't think like that Katara." Gran Gran stared down at Sokka who was now trying to get the soaked kindling to light with spark rocks. "Look here, focus on the water in the wood and try to pull it out."

"No way." Sokka countered huddling around his treasured wood protectively. "You've done enough _helping _Katara. I don't want my wood in splinters everywhere."

Katara turned away. "Maybe I shouldn't—"

"Nonsense Katara, have more confidence. And put more trust in your sister's abilities Sokka." Gran Gran continued. "Waterbending is a sacred and noble art that should be practiced regularly by those who are gifted."

Katara turned to the pit and took in a deep breath. Sokka scrambled back.

"Hey—" he started. But the task was done. Streams of water from the wood filled the air.

"I did it!" Katara shouted with joy, throwing her hands up. Unfortunately for Sokka, this resulted in being soaked by sheets of water which half froze him where he stood.

"G-g-g-rrreat j-job." Sokka stuttered shivering. Gran Gran chuckled and started the fire with one flick of the spark rocks.

"Perfect Katara" Gran Gran said while the flames flickered to life. "See Sokka? Your sister's skills ended up helping after all."

"R-r-right" Sokka said rolling his eyes and he hobbled to the edge almost face planting trying to get unfrozen.

Oblivious to Sokka's condition, Katara thought aloud, "Where do think I could ever find someone to teach me?" She hung her head remembering all the tragedies the Southern Water Tribe had suffered. "The Fire Nation is terrible…" she continued with a dark look.

"Yes…" Gran Gran answered with a serious, but reverent tone. She shook her head; she did not feel up to telling any of _those _stories tonight. Not on her birthday. To change the subject, she thought of a different story she could tell her grandkids.

"I think it's time I told you kids something I've kept from you for a long time" she started. Sokka and Katara looked up. "I was not born here in the Southern Water Tribe."

"What!" Sokka exclaimed as Katara gasped.

"I was born in the Northern Water Tribe" she continued before they could ask, "and ran away from home when I was 18 years old" she paused for interruption, but they were too busy gawking, so she decided to keep going. "I was able to stowaway on an Earth Kingdom ship on an expedition from the king to locate the avatar" she clarified.

"You stowed away?" Sokka asked confused. "Why take such drastic measures?"

Gran Gran frowned at the question. "That story, will have to be told another night" she said darkly and looked away. "The real reason I told you was because of the water-bending classes that were there. There were many masters and students- too many to count!" she said with a smile to Katara.

Katara perked up. "Do you think they're still there? Could someone teach me?" her eyes sparkled.

"I haven't a clue…" she answered. "I'm sure things have changed…" she trailed off remembering all of the stupid traditions the North Tribe had. "I doubt the fire nation has been able to capture it though. It is a grand city-state surrounded by high cliffs and a 200 foot wall of ice... and so many water benders trained to work together for defense. When I was there, the fire nation could never come close to the wall without suffering heavy casualties."

"Yeah! Go Water Tribe!" cheered Sokka, enjoying the story.

"But… it's at the other side of the world!" Katara said, reality hitting her hard. "That's not like a short canoe trip up the lake. There's no way of ever knowing for sure… Is there?"

"Of course there is." Gran Gran said frankly. "Maybe not right now, but the universe has way of showing us our destiny's when the time is right. Never give up hope Katara." She finished sagely.

Katara watched the smoke rise up the chimney into the night sky and reached up to put a hand on her necklace. One day, she thought.


	2. Chap2 The Prince

A/N – Sorry if Zuko is a little too evil in this chapter, he won't be this bad in future chapters, but you have to remember how he was in the beginning- and for future notice, I am not "hating" on any specific character because I don't like them. I'm just trying to be realistic.

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><p>Disclaimer – I do not own the story arc or characters of ATLA-especially the parts that I took straight from the show… heh.<p>

Chap. 2 – The Prince

Katara woke up the next morning to a dreary day of heavy snowfall. She poked her head out of the door to assess the weather, but what she saw made her gasp and her heart started racing. Greyish soot-filled snow. The Fire Nation was coming.

"Sokka!" Katara let out a scared cry.

Sokka had been lightly dozing, but when he heard Katara's tone, he was up and at her side in a heartbeat.

"What is it?" Sokka asked examining her petrified face. Katara just pointed and Sokka observed the situation.

"Oh no…" he breathed and immediately ran outside, but skipped back a couple of seconds later to grab his thick snow coat, shivering.

"I'll warn the others. Katara, wake up Gran Gran and stay hidden!" he ordered and sprinted out the door.

It didn't take long to wake the village. The whole ground started to shake as an ominous black ship started to come into view, cutting through the ice in the water. Sokka took his post on the defensive wall he had built after his father left. This is what his dad entrusted him to do. Protect the village and his sister. He would not stand down to anything.

Right before hitting the steadfast Water Tribe boy, the ship came to a halt, and with a loud hiss, the front end started to open downwards, forcing him to stumble back and fall over.

The whole town had ventured just outside their homes to watch as six Fire Nation soldiers, led by a young looking man with a frightening scar on the left side of his face exited the ship in a steady march.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Sokka screamed, running at the leader, club-sword in hand. It was just a matter of a few kicks, and Sokka was pitched into the snow head-first without slowing them in the slightest.

"No, Sokka…" Katara whimpered, as she watched her brother fall. She started to run forward, but was stopped by Gran Gran's grip on her arm, and quick shake of the head.

Meanwhile, the leader of the fire nation party walked straight into the middle of town.

"Pathetic" he muttered under his breath looking at the sad excuse for a village. Then glanced back over his shoulder to check on the "warrior" and almost let a smirk come to his face. "Men! Search the houses and bring everyone out here." He ordered.

"That shouldn't take long" he heard a soldier to his left murmur and he actually did let a smirk come to his face this time.

Once the town had been assembled he introduced himself.

"My name is Zuko, crown prince of the Fire Nation." He started. "I am here in search of the avatar." He paused and no one said a word. Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed Kanna saying, "he'd be about this old, master of all the elements?" He let the woman go. "Any information would be greatly appreciated" he ended emphasizing the last two words with flames bursting to life in each of his fists.

"AHHHHHHH!" Sokka started charging Zuko again with his club raised high. Zuko ducked and tripped him before he had a chance to swing. Sokka rolled up and threw his boomerang just narrowly missing him this time. Zuko was shocked this lousy fighter had almost landed a blow on him.

"Show no fear!" came a small child's voice, throwing Sokka a spear.

"AHHHHHHH!" Sokka rushed Zuko for a third time. Zuko had enough of these games. He broke up the weapon using only his forearms and then snapped a final piece in his hands to signify his victory to the deluded boy.

Smack! Zuko felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. The boomerang had… come back, obviously, and Zuko's blood boiled at the indignity of being struck by such an idiot.

He summoned flames in daggers at his fists, and was about to give the weakling a very bad burn when he suddenly found himself very cold and wet.

"A waterbender!" one of his soldiers gasped and Zuko's eyes flickered in fear for about a millisecond. He hadn't faced a waterbender yet in his travels. He sloppily unfroze himself in a blaze of heat and combed the villagers with his eyes for the bender.

"There" one of his men grunted and pointed at Katara, who had just acted on instinct to save her brother. Zuko studied her. She was half-scared, half-angry, but didn't look like much of a threat.

"Seize her." Zuko ordered. "Waterbending is forbidden here. There are standing orders to have all waterbenders of the Southern Tribe captured. All the intelligence said there weren't any left. My uncle will be intrigued."

As his men moved to surround Katara, Zuko gave Sokka a hard kick in the ribs. _'That should keep him down for a while'_ he thought.

There was a blast of snow, and four of his soldiers were thrown on their backs by Katara, but Zuko saw one of them get behind her and the soldier quickly pushed her down to tie her hands together with rope behind her back.

"Take her to the prison hold" he ordered two of his men, and they had to all but carry her to the ship due to her struggling.

"Sokka!" much more desperation and terror filled Katara's voice than this morning as she was carted off into the depths of Zuko's ship.

"Ka…ta-ra" Sokka groaned still down from Zuko's kick.

Zuko glanced around the group of people in front of him. They were terrified, and sad-looking. Some of them were sniffling while others (since about half the lot was little kids) were crying outright. He gave a last ditch effort for his mission at hand.

"If any of you have any information or know the whereabouts of the avatar… I may consider bringing her back, and we can forget this entire mess ever happened." Zuko proposed.

Everyone looked around, but no one spoke up.

"No one?" Zuko goaded. There was a grunt beneath him as the fool of a warrior started to rise. But instead of another head on attack like he expected, the boy took a moment to gather his bearings and looked up at him with pure hatred in his eyes.

Zuko stared at him until Sokka slowly started to speak. "I heard… a rumor…" he started.

"Oh, really?" One of the soldiers interjected, but a small flicker of hope sparked in Zuko regardless. "What? Did your grandmother tell you some bed time stories?" The soldier joked, and Zuko chuckled in spite of himself.

"No" said Sokka seriously, and Zuko held up a hand to let him continue without further ridicule from his men. "My father goes out to fight in the war regularly, that's why none of the other men are here right now…" he stressed this trying to seem intimidating. Zuko wasn't in the least bit frightened, but was starting to get his hopes up when he heard Sokka was being serious. _'Could I finally get a lead?'_ Zuko thought anxiously.

Sokka continued after some sleight hesitation. "The last time he returned he told us stories of a monk who they found near the southern air temple. He told me that he was very old and seemed to know a lot about airbenders." He stopped for a second and then rushed through his next sentence. "He said he-might-have-seen-him-airbend, now can you please bring my sister back? I've given you the information you seek."

Zuko recoiled slightly at the information. An old monk would make sense. But they had searched the southern air temple and even some places near it already. _'He could have seen us and hid'_ came a voice in the back of his head. _'There was that one room we weren't able to get into as well…'_ by now the prince's hopes were defiantly up. But then he looked back at the boy and realized something. _'The girl was his sister'_ he thought. _'-and he did seem kind of rushed there at the end.' _Zuko scrutinized the water tribe warrior.

"When did you say your father last returned here?" Zuko asked.

"Uh…" Sokka averted his eyes. "A little less than six... months." He lied.

"Right…" replied Zuko suspiciously.

Kanna put a hand to her face. Even she could tell the boy was lying just by his tone. To Sokka's credit however, his story wasn't a complete lie in fact. She remembered about 6 years ago when her son had returned from a short skirmish in the southern islands of the earth kingdom with stories about an old hermit of a man who spoke of airbenders. Name was Pathil? Pathin? She couldn't recall. But Hakoda never said anything about him actually airbending. She looked up to see the prince about to make a decision, and she hoped with all her heart that he would allow Katara to return, even if for just a short while. What he did next though was unexpected, and broke her heart.

"Very well peasant, we will test this theory of yours." He started. "The southern air temple is not too far from here. You will accompany us there and if you turn out to be telling the truth, and the monk is there, or has been spotted recently, I will let both you and your sister go free. If not… well, I could always use a training dummy…" he trailed off smirking.

"No! You can't-" Kanna started to plead.

"Quiet, hag." Zuko said sharply.

"Hey, that's my grandmother your-!" Sokka started to make a move, but Zuko quickly gave him another square kick and turned his back on the puny settlement.

"Take him." He ordered to the last of his men. "It's time to go."

As the four men each dragged one of Sokka's limbs toward the ship, one of the soldiers leaned down to Sokka's pale face and whispered. "It won't be fun being the prince's training dummy, I've got the burns to prove it." Sokka wondered if the man was serious as he slowly watched his home get smaller and smaller.

Kanna sank to her knees. This was horrible. Both her grandchildren taken by the fire nation. Was there any limit to their cruelty? _'At least they have each other.' _Came a hopeful thought. _'For now… at least they have each other.'_


	3. Chap3 Pai Sho and Combat

A/N – Now I'm worried I made everything too light-hearted, but will support myself with the fact that most of them are teenagers and are still easily manipulated despite their situation in life. I have to keep reminding myself that these characters haven't experienced the things they did in canon avatar and are still pretty immature about things…

Disclaimer – I don't own the characters or story arc of ATLA.

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><p>Chapter 3 – Pai Sho and Combat<p>

Katara was deposited in a hard steel room with just a mat to sleep on, and a table with a candle in the corner for light. Her bonds were cut, and soldiers locked the door after exiting. Katara was hit by a wave of emotions, mostly fear for her life and her village, but perked up when she heard shouting down the hallway echoing loudly.

"This has gone far enough Prince Zuko. You never think these things through!" A frustrated gruff voice was saying. "We have no use for any more prisoners on this-" there was a slight pause and she couldn't make out what was said. "-and no I don't care that she is a waterbender! Yes it is curious, but what's your plan? Are you going to sail into fire nation waters to deliver her to a prison site? This is just like what happened with the earth bender-"

"It is my duty Uncle!" Katara recognized the Prince's voice. "We are at war, and if I'm going to be fire lord one day, I want to do what's best for my country." She heard a distinct clanking, like someone stamping up the stairs, "and in the meantime they can be of use!" she heard Zuko snarl. "Well maybe not the fool with boomerang, but the benders give me real experience in training, you know that!"

Then there was silence. Katara thought she may have heard a loud sigh, but otherwise that was the end of the argument. _'He took Sokka'_ Katara thought miserably. As the hours passed by she wondered where they could be keeping him on this dreadful ship. Then suddenly the door unlocked and she saw a soldier standing in the doorway.

"Come with me." He grunted lazily.

Katara thought about resisting, but looked around and saw no hope in her little room, so she followed the soldier into the corridor. They stopped outside a door in the back of the ship, and the guard gestured for her to enter. There she saw an old man in a reddish robe with fire nation armor over it and a boy about the age of 15 in a red shirt and pants that seemed too big for him. They were studying a pai sho table and didn't look up when she crossed the room.

"Welcome, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, please join us." The old man made a rather decisive move on the board, and the boy across from him paled a bit.

"How did you know…?" Katara started. "Who are you?" she asked confused.

"My name is Iroh, first born son to the late Fire Lord Azulon and uncle of Prince Zuko, the commander of this ship." he stated, formally introducing himself, and as Katara stumbled back at this information stunned, Iroh continued, not noticing her reaction, "and this is Haru," he said gesturing to the boy. "- who, if I may say, is in quite a predicament in more ways than one" he finished with a knowing smile.

"I'm not beat just yet…" he responded, then flicked his finger, sending one of the stone tiles the full length of the board, knocking one of Iroh's tiles to the side. Iroh scowled and studied his remaining pieces while Haru turned to Katara. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Katara."

"You're an earthbender!" Katara exclaimed astonished at the way the stone had moved without him touching it. She felt faint all of a sudden, as her mind tried to process everything that was happening.

"What's going on here?" she asked aloud befuddled at the strange scene in front of her.

"This old man's about to get his butt kicked…" muttered Haru while studying the board with great intensity.

Iroh looked away from the board, disappointed with himself for overlooking such an obvious move, and noticed Katara's condition.

"Here, sit, have some Jasmine tea, it is very calming for the mind." Iroh said reaching for the pot and a cup.

Katara sat, but only because the weirdness of the situation made her legs weak. Here was the fire lord's _brother_ serving her, a _prisoner_ of the fire nation, tea and acting like she was his guest. After studying Iroh's face and finding zero hostility, she took the small teacup from his outstretched arm and just stared at the steaming contents. _'Tea is water.'_ She thought, but before the thought could develop, Iroh spoke without looking up from the board.

"If you're thinking about bending your tea, might I suggest drinking some before making a mess of things? It is quite delicious." He said.

"Stop stalling, Iroh, you know what move you have to make" started Haru. "Unless you've got something up your sleeve…"

"Fine." Iroh huffed plopping down his lily tile, ending the game.

"Excellent." Haru said with a smile. "I take three quarters of the board."

Iroh glanced at his new guest. "It's not poisoned you know" he said, and emphasized this by taking a long drink from his own cup and letting out a sigh. "Please, drink. It does wonders for those under a lot of stress."

"and those who just lost half their Pai Sho tiles" said Haru with a smirk.

"I thought you said this was just for fun?" Iroh said paling slightly.

"That was last game, this one was for keeps" He said complacently and swept most of the tiles into his lap.

"Do you play?" Iroh asked Katara. "I dare say Haru has enough tiles to share with you if you'd like…"

"I never learned the game" Katara said distractedly and took a sip from her cup. She found it warm and soothing after all her shouting earlier and the taste was unlike anything she had ever experienced.

"Well, that will have to change." Iroh said with a smile. "I'll just have to make sure I don't teach you as well as I did Haru over here." He joked.

"Heh heh" Haru chuckled and poured himself a cup of tea.

"Where's Sokka?" Katara randomly blurted then felt the tea give her focus and remembered something. "I heard you shouting…" she mumbled.

"Ahhh yes, my nephew can be quite stubborn sometimes. I'm afraid I must apologize for him for what he has put you through, that's one of the reasons I asked for you to be brought here." Iroh said with a frown. "Your brother is currently scrubbing the deck topside, and I couldn't get him here without Prince Zuko noticing. I will not ask for you to forgive him, but if it is any consolation, he left your village unscathed, minus the wall the ship hit, and I believe he has every intention of letting you go eventually, without bringing you to the fire nation."

Katara felt a little relief from the old man's words and took a long drink from her tea before replying. "I was so scared…" and her emotions started riding high again as she remembered the events from this morning. A tear came out of her eye and she wiped it away furiously.

"I felt the same way when they took me." Haru said sympathetically. Iroh looked between the two teens and decided it was best for Katara that he left.

"I need to use the restroom." He said and quietly exited.

"My village in the Earth Kingdom was raided about 5 months ago." Haru continued, and Katara looked up with a gasp. "My mother and I fled, but we ran into the _prince _on the outskirts of town." He said with disgust. "Surprised, my mother tripped and almost plummeted down a high-rise in the path. I saved her with earthbending out of instinct, but Zuko saw… They surrounded me, and threatened to hurt my mother if I didn't come with them. The look on my mother's face as they took me away was heartbreaking. The fire nation had taken my father away just a few years ago for 'illegal' earthbending. I wish I could see them again…"

"I'm so sorry." Katara replied. "So you're a prisoner too?"

Haru smiled darkly. "Doesn't seem like it, does it?" Katara shook her head.

Just then the door shot open, and in walked Prince Zuko. He saw Katara and stumbled, obviously surprised. He awkwardly righted himself and asked "how did you get-?" then he saw the pot of tea on the table. "Uncle…" he muttered under his breath furiously. "No matter. It saves me the trouble of introducing you. Let's go."

Katara didn't move and stared at the Prince, hating him, but he just turned and exited, while a few soldiers walked in to push them along.

"Just don't resist." Haru felt the need to mutter to Katara. "You aren't in any real danger from these guys."

Katara complied, but was confused by Haru's comment. Weren't they on a fire nation vessel? What was different about this ship than the ones that had taken the other waterbenders from her tribe?

They came out onto the main deck a few seconds later, and Katara saw Sokka up on the second tier with a mop.

"Katara!" He yelled when he spotted her and reached his hand out in worry, but a guard next to him gave him a sharp elbow to the ribs, and he continued scrubbing; shooting her continuous nervous glances as Zuko led them to the center of the deck. There was a pile of coal and a few buckets of water.

"I'm taking you down this time Fluko!" Haru taunted and smiled at his joke. Katara heard Sokka laugh a little and rolled her eyes.

Zuko didn't dignify that with a response, and waved his hand. The men cleared to the side, taking Katara with them. Iroh walked up on deck and nodded to Zuko and then to Haru, and took a place to watch near Katara.

Upon seeing his Uncle, Zuko slowly slipped into a firebending stance, and said clearly to his opponent. "Let's see it then."

Haru immediately brought some coal to his side and started shooting it in chunks toward Zuko. The Fire Nation prince blocked these easily with his fists and feet and shot a stream of fire straight at Haru's chest.

Haru brought the remaining coal up into a wall to protect him, and the fire ignited the coals as it dissipated around wall. Thinking quickly, Haru shot most of the coal he had used as a wall in a mound towards Zuko who instinctively jumped up over it. Expecting this, Haru made a sharp uppercut motion, which made the coal rise just high enough to trip the firebender in midair.

Zuko tumbled to the floor, but before Haru was able to make a follow up strike, Zuko pushed the flames that were still in the coals around Haru's feet and set his pants on fire.

Unable to keep his stance, Haru could no longer bend, and was forced to run to one of the buckets of water to dunk his feet into.

"Ahhhhhh" Haru sighed as the fire hissed away. Then he was caught from behind, a fire dagger at his throat.

"Enough" Iroh stated simply and walked over to where Zuko had Haru in a choke hold. "That was sloppy Prince Zuko, if the earth Haru was bending wasn't coal you very well may have lost that fight."

"But I didn't lose." Zuko said defiantly.

"It seems our friend comes closer to beating us every day, nephew… Iroh said thoughtfully. "His pai sho skills and his bending have grown much stronger in the past few months."

The three teenagers on deck all seemed to speak at once in retaliation to Iroh's comment.

"This isn't about him-!" yelled Zuko.

"He's not your friend-!" cried Katara.

"Hey! I just beat you last game!" shouted Haru crossly.

Iroh decided to respond to Haru. "You haven't been able to take the whole pot from me yet boy." He goaded with a smile.

"Is that a challenge?" Haru asked grinning.

"I don't care about your silly games!" Zuko fumed. "I have to be ready to face all the elements when I battle the avatar!" Katara flinched. Iroh and Haru were used to his outbursts by now and simply turned to him and bowed out of the way.

"Uncle…" Zuko turned to Katara. "How do you think I'll fare one-on-one with a waterbender?"

"That would depend on the skills of the waterbender…" Iroh answered with a nervous glance at Katara. "…and of course the time of day at which you fight" he continued. "I've studied waterbenders in the past, setting is probably more important than skill, when it's fire against water." He paused while Zuko studied Katara. "You don't need to fight this girl, Prince Zuko. I don't think it will help much if you ever face the avatar."

"We shall see." Zuko replied, ignoring his Uncle's advice and gesturing to have Katara brought forward.

Katara stumbled to her knees and faced the ground. The fight with Haru had been interesting to watch-she had never seen anyone else bend like that before-but the way they had treated Haru afterwards made her start to understand the situation a little better. Zuko had taken him on the premise of illegal bending, but really just wanted a bender to spar with so he could have more experience when facing enemies of the same element.

"I am ready." Zuko said simply and faced Katara with his hand extended in a fist.

"No" Katara said, finally deciding to be defiant.

"No?" Zuko replied his eyes widening.

"Come on, Katara! Beat his Fire Nation brains out!" She heard a cry from Sokka who was struggling with his guards trying to watch the scene.

"No. I refuse." Katara challenged but felt her heart beat twice as fast as the words slipped out, despite herself.

The prince paused and then scowled as he slowly walked toward her. "You will fight me." He said stubbornly, letting fire come out of his fists.

It took the rest of Katara's courage to refuse him again. "No!" she yelled and whipped up to her feet, facing him.

"Fight me, or burn!" Zuko let out a fiery haze from all around his body and Katara, her courage spent, looked on in horror. Zuko took one look at the helpless girl's face and recoiled slightly.

Katara watched as the Prince's face morphed from one of hatred to one of anguish and he started to look toward his uncle.

Iroh had his head downcast, his eyes closed and a look of disappointment on his face.

Zuko slowly started walking toward his quarters completely silent except for giving a furious order to his helmsman- "No one disturbs me without word of the avatar".

Katara was baffled at the Prince's sudden change in mood, and watched as he disappeared with a look that seemed to be agony on his face. _'What did I miss?'_ she thought, and looked around at the others. Iroh had a solemn and knowing look, and was staring at his nephew's retreating form, while Haru looked almost as confused as she did.

"But I'm hungry…" Sokka complained loudly to his guards as they tried to get him to work again. This broke the tension in the air, and Iroh shook his head and suggested quietly, "Why don't we all find something to eat?" and Haru and Katara followed him involuntarily as they contemplated the oddity that was Prince Zuko.

* * *

><p>AN – Awesome points to those who know why Zuko had the reaction that he did.


	4. Chap4 Ambushed!

A/N – Get ready for an epic, action packed chapter of awesomeness! I had so much fun writing this! Make sure you don't start reading unless you know you can finish!

Disclaimer – All of ATLA's crazy awesome plot and characters don't belong to me, but this epic fight scene does!

* * *

><p>Chapter 4 – Ambushed!<p>

Katara was ushered back into her small room after eating a quick bowl of rice and steamed vegetables with Haru and Sokka. Iroh hadn't dined with them, but still had brewed a large pot of tea for the three teenagers to share. Some of the guards had been difficult, and didn't let them talk much; forcing them apart to eat separately. Katara remembered exchanging glances with Haru a lot during the meal, their curiosity with the prince's actions earlier etched into their faces. She had tried to catch Sokka's eye, but he was too busy scarfing down whatever the guards put in front of him to notice.

She lay down on her bed thinking about the day's horrible happenings and brought her knees to her chest. She thought the day she would leave the Southern Water Tribe would have been a grand and glorious departure, with the whole tribe's best wishes and loving faces to remember. Now terror filled and heartbroken faces were carved into her memory from when she was dragged away unwillingly. She would never forget.

Katara eventually was lulled to sleep by the ships soft rumbling.

She woke up to a terrible blast that threw her from her mat and almost hit the table.

"What on earth!" she exclaimed. Another blast came, this one closer. Katara slammed into the opposite wall and moaned. It took a little while for her to get her head to stop ringing, but she soon noticed the door had been flung open from the last blast.

Her heart raced. _'Maybe I can slip away with all this confusion' _she thought as she peered into the empty corridor. As she ventured out still deciding what to do, a few Fire Nation soldiers bolted around the corner.

"Stop right there!" one of them yelled.

'_Too late'_, she thought, and sprinted in the opposite direction.

When she reached the stairs she knew led to the deck, she heard fighting and screaming coming from above. She glanced behind her and saw the soldiers round the corner.

"Come back here you little-" SLAM! One of the soldiers dropped to reveal Sokka holding what looked like an iron piece of pipe.

'Wha-' the other soldier turned, but Sokka quickly smashed in his skull faceplate with a sickening crunch. The man slumped over and Sokka ran quickly to his baby sister.

"Sokka! What's going on?" Katara asked.

"I think Zuko is being ambushed!" Sokka replied excitedly. "Let's go see!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her up the short flight of stairs out onto the deck.

"Ewwww…" Sokka groaned and took a step back into Katara. Then she smelled it. It was worse than the spray of an artic skunk hare. Katara looked around holding her nose, her eyes watering. The sun was still down, but it had already begun to cast a small bit of light into the sky as dawn approached. And what she saw she didn't believe.

A small fleet of water tribe ships had surrounded the metal monster. There were soldiers everywhere in disarray, and some had taken off their faceplates so they could hold their noses.

"IT'S DAD!" Sokka shouted ecstatically and his face glowed as he recognized the fleet's flagship. Katara thought he saw him jump five feet in the air as he ran to where the nearest group of fighters were fighting and started to swing his iron pipe with reckless abandon.

'_Dad!' _she thought as she turned to see the ships and then to a figure on the second tier in heavy combat. She recognized him immediately. "IT IS DAD!" she let out, her heart overwhelmed with all the emotions of her father leaving her and finally seeing him again after all those years. She ran without thinking what was going on around her. She had to get to her father. She tore through the door that led to the upper tiers and came into a large common room with stairs in the corner. There were a few water tribe warriors fighting Fire Nation soldiers, and she recognized one.

'Bato?' Katara asked uncertainly.

Bato heard a voice call his name behind him, but didn't let it break his focus. He dodged a fire blast, and quickly moved to the floor where he kicked his legs into a fast sweep, downing his man. He then jumped on top of him and smashed his faceplate-less head with his elbow.

The other warrior wasn't as lucky. At Katara's voice, he turned, confused at hearing someone feminine on the ship and was caught to his knees by the heel of the other Fire Nation soldier's foot.

The Fire Nation soldier than hesitated slightly because he couldn't decide whether to help his friend, who had just been floored beside him, or continue attacking. In this hesitation, a Water Tribe warrior ran in the back doorway and stuck him with his spear.

Katara just gasped as she witnessed the soldier's death. And three masked heads turned to find the source of the noise.

"Katara?" Bato said surprised beyond belief as his eyes spread wide and eyebrows disappeared.

But before they could embrace or exchange words, a blast of black earth sent Bato reeling across the room and landing hard against the wall.

Haru had entered from yet another entrance, a large pile of coal pushed along at his feet.

"What are you doing!" Katara exclaimed. Haru was slightly surprised to see Katara at the other end of the room but his face quickly hardened as he turned to his next two opponents.

"Stay out of this, Katara." He said slowly, and started to attack the other warriors with large chunks, just like Bato. Unprepared, and completely taken off guard by an earthbending attacker, the other two warriors were unceremoniously knocked out and slumped to the floor.

Enraged and adrenaline pumping furiously through her veins, Katara looked for any source of water to bend. She saw a very large pipe near the ceiling that she was sure had water in it, and focused on it, trying with all her might to get it to freeze or back up somehow. Nothing happened.

"Come on…" she struggled out scrunching up her face.

With nothing happening, Haru had time to pin Katara to the floor as gently as he could with some spare bits of coal.

"Stay down, Katara! You could get hurt!" he yelled as he ran across the room toward the stairs, and the slight hint of worry in his voice infuriated Katara to bursting point.

"How could you…" Katara started darkly. "How could you _fight_-_for_-_THEM_!" she screeched waving her arms wildly.

There was a massive explosion from above, as torrents of water cascaded straight onto the young earthbender. Haru was washed smack into the steel counter near the stairs, and groaned as he tried to sit up.

Katara was in his face before he could gather his bearings.

"_Why?_" was all she said with tears now in her eyes as she realized Haru was a traitor. Haru made a shaky movement with his left arm, but Katara roughly threw her hands up, knowing from her past experience that this usually froze the water haphazardly. She was not disappointed, and Haru was stuck to the counter by an encasement of ice.

Haru was baffled at Katara's strength, never thinking of her as a threat. But now he was stuck, so he answered truthfully, "Right as we were first attacked, Iroh came to my room and gave me his word that he would have me released if I helped to defend the ship." He paused thinking if he should continue. "I was so excited because Iroh _never_ goes back on his word."

"So you're on their side now!" Katara fumed. "How could you? Think about what they did to your family-!" There was a shout above her that made her remember her purpose for coming through here. She flew to the staircase with worried thoughts of her dad, but whipped around to face Haru before climbing.

"You better hope I never see you again." She said threateningly, and quickly climbed the staircase.

* * *

><p>*10 minutes ago…*<p>

Zuko was in a tight spot. He looked around at the encircling Water Tribe ships and shouted for a damage report from the mines that hit them.

"The engines have stopped and the rudder is jammed sir" replied an out of breath engineer who had just run up. "We haven't found any hull damage, but the smell is unbearable…"

"Go check it again" ordered Zuko. "I'm sure I felt something crack down there."

"But sir…" the engineer complained holding his nose.

"GO!" Zuko yelled in his face, and the man nodded running off.

'_Where is uncle?' _Zuko thought, and as if on cue, Iroh huffed up the outside stairs to the bridge.

"We are being boarded" he reported quickly trying to catch his breath.

"Can we win this?" Zuko looked to his uncle for advice on his next move.

"We should have the advantage if they fight us directly; we outnumber them 2 to 1. But we were caught off guard by their mines and this horrid smell, so I ensured that we have an ace up our sleeve if things gets dodgy."

"What?" asked Zuko, his eyes now watching warriors with masks dressed in blue climb up onto the deck.

"I convinced Haru to fight for us on my word of his release if we come out of this on top." Iroh explained watching to see if Zuko would disapprove.

"That was probably wise…" Zuko looked toward his uncle with trust. "They won't expect to be facing any earthbenders."

"Exactly" stated Iroh. "What of the other prisoners? They are sure to side with the enemy once they find out they are water tribe."

"Right after the blasts, I sent some men to guard them." Zuko said hurriedly. "Haru must have slipped by…"

They heard the door to the second tier below burst open and looked over to see three masked warriors turn to face two of Zuko's firebenders and three spearmen. The warriors fought furiously and traded blows putting up a pretty good fight.

"I recognize that one." Iroh said pointing to the warrior who was taking on the 3 spearmen all at once. "It's Hakoda, leader of the men from the Southern Water Tribe. He's been on the fire nation's most wanted list for about five years now for raiding ports and ships near the earth Kingdom coast."

"But we're so far from the coast, what could he be doing in these waters?" Zuko queried feeling like he was missing something.

"Maybe he is returning home…" Iroh mused as he watched one of the firebenders give a pretty nasty burn to one of the warriors. "…and he just happened across our ship?"

'_Too coincidental' _, Zuko thought, watching the firebenders overtake the two warriors, and then his eyes widened as he realized something from yesterday.

"Uh… uncle…" Zuko started and turned to face Iroh.

"Hmm?" Iroh replied and slipped into an aggressive firebending stance to get ready to shoot some massive flames at one of the water tribe ships.

"I-think-his-kids-might-be-on-this-ship!" Zuko exclaimed as the door directly behind him shot open.

Hakoda stood there spear in hand having managed to get past the three soldiers Iroh and Zuko hadn't been watching.

"Surrender!" he shouted shoving the spear-point to poke the armor on Zuko's back.

Zuko slowly raised his hands, but caught a wink from Iroh, who had turned his head just slightly to let his nephew see.

As fast as he could Zuko ducked and rolled just as Iroh whipped around to let the colossal fire-blast he had meant for one of the Water Tribe vessels fly out towards Hakoda.

As soon as he had seen Zuko get out of the way, Hakoda expected the attack. He dove towards Zuko, dropping the spear, but catching his foot as he felt his back burn from the immense heat.

They tumbled out onto the balcony and somehow Hakoda ended up having Zuko pinned to the ground his hand on his throat while Iroh was attacked from more warriors coming up the inner stairs.

"You fire nation are all the same…" Hakoda said. "…and you all die the same."

Zuko clawed his fingers at the chief's tight grip and realized something. _'He doesn't know' _he thought. "_How could he know?'_

"Let – me - go" Zuko sputtered. "Or Sokka - and Katara - will never see - the light of day – again." He half bluffed.

"Sokka… and Katara…?" surprise and horror filled Hakoda as the firebender he was killing breathed out the names of his children. His grip slackened, and Zuko was able to inhale enough air to burn Hakoda's wrists away from him and kick him back into the bridge.

But before Zuko could deliver a final blow, a massive tier splitting pipe blast shook the entire structure so horribly he was thrown from the balcony, barely able to catch the side with one hand.

Zuko feared for his life as he glanced down to the deck below. He wasn't sure he would survive if he fell...

Hakoda was helped up by one of his warriors that had breached the brig and took out a long knife, turning toward the balcony.

"Zuko!" Iroh yelled, still trying to get up from the last blast.

* * *

><p>Katara rushed up the stairs to the second tier and the first thing she noticed was Prince Zuko hanging far out over the deck on the upper balcony. She rushed to the right side stairs to get a better look, and saw four Water Tribe warriors who had infiltrated the bridge, and her dad, who was slowly walking to the edge of the balcony.<p>

She smirked. _'Victory water tribe!'_

"Uncle!" Zuko shouted, desperately trying to climb back up, but to no avail.

Then Katara saw Iroh on the other side of the ship halfway up the stairs moving his hands in circles, some sparks forming.

* * *

><p>*Just a few moments ago...*<p>

"Zuko!" Iroh yelled as he slowly struggled to his feet.

The blast had thrown him out on the left side of the bridge and winded him, but fates would have it that the warriors now in the bridge couldn't get to him directly due to the door that had jammed shut after the blast.

He took two seconds to analyze the situation. Zuko was hanging from the balcony. Hakoda was walking toward him with a sharp knife drawn.

"Uncle!" his nephew shouted.

He took one second to make a decision. The sun peaked over the horizon and hit Iroh with the powerful first rays of daylight. He took in a controlled breath that was a necessary three and a half seconds long, and started circling his hands.

As he conjured the lightning, he analyzed the angles, and saw that he could make the most accurate hit to the chief on his left leg, right above his kneecap.

This is where he aimed, and this is where the lightning struck, not only severely damaging the leg, but also blasting him straight up and over his nephew.

As soon as the warriors saw their leader plummet, they started calling "Retreat! Retreat!" just as Iroh expected.

What he did not expect, and had not expected in the last 40 years of his life, happened just across from him on the other set of stairs.

"Blessed Agni…" he breathed awestruck and staring.

* * *

><p>AN – I'M EVIL! I'm also kind of new to this, so would this be the appropriate time to beg for reviews? To spark some interest, I'll tell you that the next chapter will be titled, 'The Avatar Awakes'. And thanks to all that have already reviewed!


	5. Chap5 The Avatar Awakes

A/N – Aack! I didn't want to post this here, but it was taking too long to write the rest of this chapter and I felt bad for everyone (especially Zuko) that I left yall hanging… so here you go, this kind of ties it up…

Chapter 5 – The Avatar Awakes

Sokka could see that the battle on deck was nearly won. He paused to check the progression of the fight on the bridge, and was filled with a giddy feeling at the sight of the scarred prince hanging for dear life off his own balcony while his father moved in to finish the job.

Sokka was glad he didn't blink in the moments to follow. There was a flash of lightning from his right- his father was falling! Another flash from his left- a raw and powerful light that lit the sky too bright for him to see the source.

What broke him from his mesmerized stare a few seconds later was the limp body of the water tribe warrior who was still plunging toward the deck.

"DAD! NO!" He cried. But there was nothing he could do. He closed his eyes just before Hakoda hit, but was surprised that he did not hear a sickening bang or crunch, but more of a small thud, as a bizarre wind whipped past him forcing him to step back in order to keep his balance.

Confused, and hearing the shouts for retreat coming from just about everywhere, Sokka rushed to his father's body and leaned his head down next to his chest. He was breathing! He looked around hurriedly for help, but what caught his eye was a small figure seemingly floating in mid-air off the side of the balcony above. Zuko was facing the figure, and let out a burst of red light which was immediately blown backwards and Sokka lost sight of him.

The wind started to reach hurricane strength and Sokka struggled to keep his eyes open as he studied the floating figure closer. It turned, landing lightly on the balcony. Could it be? -no… Katara! Her eyes were aglow and her hands started whipping around her body furiously.

Sokka felt the boat rise and rock forward. He stumbled toward the edge of the ship barely able to right himself before he fell in. The water tribe ships were pushed back and Sokka saw some of the boarding lines split as the warriors were retreating. He stabilized himself and turned his gaze back to his sister.

Katara twirled and shot her hands in the air and Sokka immediately hit the deck to brace himself as the water all around the ship froze solid.

Once the shaking ceased he slowly opened his eyes to peer off the edge of the ship. It was overkill, but if there was any doubt of a water tribe victory before, now it was quite clear. The ship was out of commission. The wind whipped up again, this time stronger, and Sokka was barely able to turn when he heard a soft clank behind him.

Katara up close was… terrifying. Her face was livid and her eyes shown intensely as she looked on their dad's limp body.

"He's alive, Katara!" Sokka yelled, trying to calm her down, but the wind was drowning out most noise. He did his best to crawl closer and shouted "DAD'S ALIVE!"

Something softened in Katara's face, and her body started going limp. All wind ceased, and Sokka popped up just in time to catch his baby sister before she fell over.

"Dad is…" Sokka thought he heard. But Katara quickly feinted in his arms. Sokka took a few seconds to clear his head as thoughts of his sister as a glowing eyed monster pervaded his mind. His heartbeat slowed as he realized that his family was no longer in danger and looked up and around at the water tribe ships.

Sokka raised a fist and let out his best war cry. Some of the warriors on the ships caught on and started cheering along with him. He smiled. That was something he had always wanted to do. He let out another one, but was a little too happy with it, and his voice cracked in an embarrassingly high break. There were roars of laughter and more cheers from a group of warriors who hadn't made it back to the ships and were making their way toward him.

Another warrior ran up behind the larger group. "The captain is getting away…" he reported and pointed toward a small motor-ship pulling away northeast.

"Let them go" came a voice in the middle of the assembly. "We need to regroup."

Some warriors parted to reveal Bato being supported by someone and holding his side.

"Bato!" Sokka exclaimed and opened his arms but quickly put them down. "You're hurt." He said.

"I'll survive" Bato replied plainly. "The question is, will he?" He lifted an arm to gesture toward Hakoda. Some warriors bent down to examine their chief.

"He's alive and surprisingly has just a few small breaks here and there, but there is a wicked wound on his leg" one warrior started saying. "If he pulls through this he'll have one hell of a scar."

Bato stored every question that arose away as his eyes flickered from Hakoda, to Sokka, and lastly—Katara. There was a bit of silence and he figured many of the warriors were also staring at the young girl. Best they figured out what all this meant later, right now they had a job to do. His eyes jumped back to Hakoda and asked some men to transport the chief to the flagship.

He turned to some more men and said pointing, "If you head through that door, you'll find an earthbender trapped in ice. Break him out and bind him, if he gives you any trouble, you know what to do." Three men with clubs turned toward the door.

"The ship is sinking" a warrior observed. "We need to get back to the boats quickly."

"Yes." Bato agreed and raised his hand, whistling loudly 3 times before turning back to Sokka. "I'm afraid our official reunion will have to wait, Sokka. Right now you need to take Katara across to the flagship, and put her next to your father." Sokka nodded and Bato continued. "Hurry everyone, we need to evacuate immediately."

There was a bit of rushed scrambling around as boarding lines were cast back out to the ships, and after Hakoda was safely across, Sokka was allowed to cross toward the flag ship next, carrying Katara. Bato closely followed, still needing support, but hesitated right after he stepped on the water tribe deck.

He turned to the warrior who was giving him support. "Tovakk, Hakoda will want us to sack the ship for intel before it goes down. Can you go lead a team to search the bridge swiftly? I think I can manage walking from here."

"Of course." Tovakk replied and jogged back toward the fire nation ship.

Sokka had deposited his sister in the chief's quarters next to his father just as Bato had said and returned to the deck just in time to catch Bato's arm as the boat pitched slightly from the waves.

"Thanks." Bato said as Sokka led him to a nearby bench. "It's so great to see you two again. It's been far too long… Your father has missed you every day since we left, ya know. And you've changed so much! "Your older, stronger, more mature, you're traveling with the fire nation-"

"Hey! We were- " Sokka stopped, seeing the grin on Bato's face.

"You must have quite a story…" Bato continued. His grin dropped and worry invaded his features. "Is everyone back at home…?"

"No one else was taken or hurt" Sokka reassured him. "It was Prince Zuko's ship, in case you're wondering. He was in search of the avatar, an airbender."

Bato looked into the young boy's eyes. Sokka was obviously not thinking what he was thinking, but it also seemed like he was purposely trying to avoid the subject of the supernatural power his sister had displayed. And what a power… If his theories were correct, the prince just may have found who he was looking for.


	6. Chap6 Power

A/N This chapter just seemed to drag… on and on. And the plot doesn't even move very much either. Dang I still have a lot to write… Not saying I'm getting discouraged though. I'm super excited to see where this story will end up, probably as much as you are, and I'm the author!

Disclaimer – I don't own ATLA.

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><p>Chapter 6 – Power<p>

Katara woke slowly and felt her head pounding. She tried remembering what had all happened during the fight… She had beaten Haru… Zuko was hanging on the balcony… Her dad was- Her dad! Her eyes whipped open and for a few frantic heartbeats looked around the room she was in, but calmed slightly when she saw her father's sleeping form on the bed next to hers. Her eyes were drawn to his left leg, where many bandages had been wrapped around, but they were blood stained and dark. _'That's where Iroh hit him'_ she thought. Everything after he had been hit, was a blank. She couldn't remember what happened or how she got here. The very last thing she did recall before waking up however, was images. Visions of people she had never met, but felt familiar.

Sokka and Bato ducked into the room followed by a few men carrying jars and bandages.

Katara started to stand up, but quickly sat back down feeling woozy.

"Easy there Katara…" Sokka said coming close to her while the men set about working on Hakoda and Bato's wounds.

"What happened…?" Katara asked confusedly. "I can't remember anything."

"Anything!" Sokka exclaimed.

Katara rolled her eyes at her brother's assumption. "Well I remember Bato over there, but who are you again?" she asked sarcastically.

"Ha. Ha." Sokka replied and Katara could tell he wasn't in a playful mood, so she decided to get serious again.

"Seriously Sokka, what happened out on Zuko's ship? The last thing I remember is Dad getting struck by lightning…" She didn't feel it necessary to tell Sokka about the visions just yet. "It feels like I got hit over the head with a hammer and now my head hurts and I don't remember…"

"Well it looks like you were hit by something ." Sokka said and reached for a bucket and rag. He parted her hair to reveal a large gash across the side of her scalp. "The cut isn't very deep." He said as he gently washed the wound.

"Ow!" Katara complained grabbing her head where the wound was.

"It's just water, Katara. Stop being such a –" Sokka stopped and his eyes got wide. The glowing was back. It was a different sort of glow, gentler and sort of soothing, but still unnatural light.

All eyes turned to the waterbender in the room. Some of the men were afraid of what could happen, but the light soon dissipated, to their relief.

"That feels a lot better…" Katara sighed and opened her eyes. She noticed everyone was looking at her strangely so she turned to Sokka for explanation, but his expression was the same.

"The cut is gone" Sokka said. "There isn't even a scar."

"What?" Katara asked disbelieving probing her scalp.

"Incredible" said Bato from across the room. "You have healing powers, Katara. It looks like you're just full of good surprises today."

"I do?" Katara asked. "…and what is that supposed to mean?"

Bato started to reply, but Sokka interjected.

"It means you might really be able to help dad" he said quickly and pulled her up toward their father. "That wound on his leg isn't pretty and we've been worried he might not…" Sokka stopped, not wanting to say the words.

"No…" Katara breathed searching Sokka's eyes for the truth.

"You can help though, Katara." Sokka said, unwrapping their father's leg. "Try to do what you just did to your head, to here."

Katara recoiled slightly from the sight of the mangled flesh. "That's a lot worse than a shallow cut Sokka, and I don't even know how I healed that in the first place."

"You have to try" Sokka said imploringly.

Katara looked at him disbelievingly. "Remember the last time you asked me to help you with my waterbending? The bonfire? I destroyed everything…" she replied. "You said it yourself, I'll never really be able to control my powers to be useful like this… What if I tear his leg off or something?"

Sokka turned to look straight into Katara's eyes. "I was wrong." He paused, considering something. "I was completely wrong" he modified. "I trust that you can do this Katara. I have faith in you."

Katara smiled at her brother's words, and then turned to her father looking determined.

"Water?" she asked while studying the wound closer.

A warrior held up a jar. "Here" He said.

"Okay." Katara said focusing hard and taking a deep breath. Water streamed out from the pot untidily and came to her hands where she used it to wrap them like gloves. She gritted her teeth as she lowered her hands to the lightning wound and a soft light started to shine.

"I'm doing it!" Katara laughed, seeing the glow and some water spilled off her hands.

"Focus Katara" Bato said coming over to watch.

"Oh wow, this is incredible!" Katara started enthusiastically. She sloppily pulled some more water from the jar. "I can feel it working… I wonder if I can just…" she pulled some liquids from the wound.

"Uhnnnn…." Hakoda groaned, his muscles tensing as he came into consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes.

"Dad" Sokka said with tears in his eyes.

Hakoda looked at his children and smiled warmly. "I must be dreaming…" he said.

Katara stopped her work to return her father's loving gaze, but Hakoda started cringing from pain almost immediately.

"This is a very—painful … dream" he grunted out, but let a smile play across his lips. Sokka burst into laughter and some of the men chuckled, happy that their chief was awake, but most rolled their eyes at Hakoda's sense of humor.

Katara was one of those who rolled their eyes and even let out a little groan as she started bending water across his leg again.

"Chief…" Bato started. "I know you just recovered, but it is of vital importance that you be filled in on the results of our mission." His eyes darted from Katara to Sokka then back to Hakoda. "In private…"

Hakoda frowned. "Straight down to business then…" he sighed. "My brothers…" he said shakily gesturing toward the door. The men in the room knew that this meant that they were dismissed, and headed out onto the deck. Bato stayed behind and looked warily at Sokka and Katara.

"What is our situation?" Hakoda asked, clearly unable to separate himself from his children.

"Uhh… well…" Bato started awkwardly. "The ship we hit belonged to Prince Zuko, Firelord Ozai's banished son. His Uncle Iroh, the dragon of the west, was the one who shot you down…" Bato paused not sure how to continue. "…the ship was taken out of service, but Iroh and Zuko escaped with a few men on a motor dingy. We took the remaining men as prisoners… because of the circumstance." Bato finshed slightly inclining his head toward Katara."

"Oh…" Hakoda said. He was obviously missing something, but there was one thing he did realize. Bato had taken prisoners… He had explicitly ordered before the mission for no prisoners to be left alive.

"How many?" Hakoda asked.

"Twenty-seven" Bato replied and Hakoda raised his eyebrows.

"That many gave up? After I fell? Something big must have happened that you're not telling me…" he said. He looked back and forth between his children. Katara was working diligently on his leg, and Sokka was looking at Bato, his brows furrowed.

Sokka looked like he was resolved to end the charade but this time Bato cut him off.

"First things first. What will you have us do with the prisoners?" Bato asked.

Hakoda suppressed his curiosity enough to consider. If there were no prisoners, they could return home together almost immediately. With prisoners, they would have to, obviously, take them to a prison, first. He looked at Sokka. He would understand whatever decision he made. He looked at Katara. His face softened a bit and quickly realized there was no way he could have prisoners executed in front of her.

"Sokka…" he started. "Take your sister and tell the men to point the fleet toward the Earth Kingdom mainland, we have to deliver the soldiers to a prison camp before we head home."

Sokka nodded obediently and went to the door waiting for Katara. Katara was still engrossed in her task, and didn't want to leave it. "But you'll be in pain…" she said distractedly.

"I'll just have to bear it, Katara. Bato needs to explain some things to me quickly." Hakoda responded.

Katara stopped and stood up, and Hakoda gritted his teeth. "But I want to know too! What's going on here?" she asked starting to get frustrated.

"Sokka?" Bato looked at Sokka questioningly.

Sokka turned to Katara. "C'mon, I'll tell you everything out here." He took her arm and led her out of the room.

"You're going to have to make this quick, Bato." Hakoda grunted out squinting his eyes shut.

"All right" Bato choose his next words carefully, "After you were hit by Iroh, Katara exhibited an unnatural power that probably saved you from death and froze the ship where it floated. She was furious… and glowing." Bato finished.

Hakoda opened his eyes in bewilderment. "Katara took out a fire navy ship single-handedly with her waterbending?" He asked shocked. "What could this mean?"

"Do you want the long theory, or the short assumption?" Bato replied.

"Short is—better." He answered.

Bato stared into his chief's eyes so he wouldn't suspect deceit. "Your daughter is the avatar."

* * *

><p>AN – Okay, I promise not to end another chapter like this. Sorry! PS. Zutara fans should like the next chapter. Let the foreshadowing begin! (I'll give you the title if you review! Heheh)


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